ALLY McCOIST has revealed how telephone calls in the middle of the night from Walter Smith helped him through his most harrowing week in football.

ALLY McCOIST has revealed how telephone calls in the middle of the night from Walter Smith helped him through his most harrowing week in football.

Craig Whyte’s disappearing act has left the Ibrox boss to carry the can and act as the public face of Rangers following their descent into administration.

The Rangers owner, who was nowhere to be seen as McCoist’s men lost 1-0 at home to Kilmarnock on Saturday, clearly hasn’t bought into the club’s unofficial new motto: “We don’t do walking away.”

McCoist certainly has and while he is happy to shoulder the extra responsibility brought on by the insolvency measures, the Rangers gaffer still welcomed the intervention from his Ibrox predecessor – even if it came at an ungodly hour.

Smith is currently holidaying on the west coast of America but has taken time out to counsel the man who filled his brown brogues last summer.

McCoist said: “Of course Walter has been in touch with me. He is as disappointed as the next Rangers man.

“He is out of the country at the moment but will be back in Scotland shortly.

“I make absolutely no apology for the fact that Walter and I will be having conversations.

“Not only was he part of my own career, he is also a great friend and knows this club better than anybody.

“It would be a nonsense and absolutely crazy for me not to talk with Walter.

“He is as taken aback by what has happened as myself.

“Believe it or not, Walter phoned me first. Given where he was in the world it wasn’t the best time to get me.

“It was a four-in-the-morning job and he woke me up but given the way I have been feeling lately it could have been anytime.

“We have been speaking on a regular basis.”

Leading his boyhood heroes through their darkest hour is McCoist’s top priority as he gears up for the possibility of player and staff redundancies at Murray Park today.

Still reeling at the explosive revelations regarding the financial mismanagement which has plunged the Glasgow giants into turmoil, he is bracing himself for further bad news.

Decisions which could threaten the existence of Rangers and end 140 years of history will be made in the next 48 hours as administrators Duff and Phelps attempt to discover the true extent of the club’s problems.

With each passing day last week, one of football’s great institutions was dragged further and further into the mire.

And McCoist is realistic enough to accept there could be more worrying developments for him to deal with. But the proud 49-year-old is ready to lead from the front and meet the mighty challenge head on.

He said: “I’m up for it and ready to meet whoever, whenever, wherever.

“I will have meetings with the administrators, meetings with staff and training – which is effectively what I get paid for.

“That is my job and it is important to me but I appreciated this week might be a little bit different. I am braced for anything that comes our way.

“I have received great support. I have a great family and very good friends. That is the support mechanism I have and it couldn’t be better.

“I haven’t had to turn to anybody. To be honest the vast majority of my colleagues have turned to me as I would have expected and hoped for. I am here to offer support and strength.”

McCoist does not have his troubles to seek on the park either with his team mirroring the club’s shambolic state off the pitch during the miserable home defeat at the hands of Killie.

Fans rallied behind Rangers as a capacity crowd turned up but they went home disappointed.

The result leaves McCoist’s side six points ahead of Motherwell, who have a game in hand against Hibs this week, in the race for second spot and a possible place in the Champions League.

European participation next season is obviously subject to the Ibrox club coming out of administration by March 31. But if the SPL champions continue to play in the same way then it would not be inconceivable for the Fir Park outfit to split title certainties Celtic and their beleaguered Old Firm rivals.

It is a point not lost on McCoist, who admits second spot can’t be taken for granted following Rangers’ 10-point deduction by the SPL.

He said: “I’m not sure it is a case of hanging on for second place. That is obviously the worst scenario we would want.

“Motherwell had a great result beating Hearts 3-0 and we know we have a fight on our hands. I’m aware of the fact Well will be looking at events closely and I’m sure Stuart McCall’s camp will be saying: ‘Let’s go here, we have a chance of second place.’

“It’s our job to make sure that Motherwell don’t get it.

“At the moment all we have to do is win our next game which is at Inverness.

“We know it is going to be tough but we must attempt to win all our remaining league games.

“The first-half performance against Kilmarnock wasn’t good enough and the Sasa Papac sending-off just before the break knocked the stuffing out of us.”

Results might seem irrelevant given Rangers’ perilous plight off the pitch but McCoist believes they remain hugely significant in helping the feelgood factor return to Ibrox.

Asked whether the prospect of redundancies had weighed heavily on his players, he replied: “Definite possibility.

WELFARE

“It’s easy for me to stand here and say it shouldn’t have.

“Faced with the prospect of losing your job, you get different reactions from different people.

“I would have to say what happens on the park matters. Of course it does. The most important thing is the welfare of the club and the workforce within the club.

“That will always be the case but life will be a lot easier if we are winning games.

“The results and the performances are very important to the fans and everybody connected with the club at the moment.

“I am realistic and what I will assure every supporter is that we will do our best to win every game before the end of the campaign.”